Warner Bros. Buys David Dobkin's King Arthur Script

Warner Bros. has emerged victorious in a heated bidding war for an untitled King Arthur spec script written by David Dobkin, who is also attached to direct and the produce.

Warners beat out Fox and Universal for the Arthur project, which is a major departure for Dobkin and could be a defining moment for the man as a filmmaker.

Dobkin is best known for his successful buddy comedies such as Wedding Crashers and Shanghai Knights, and is behind The Change-Up, the upcoming comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman.

Dobkin is producing via his Big Kid Pictures along with the shingle’s Jeff Kleeman. Lionel Wigram (Sherlock Holmes) is also producing.

The deal was in the seven figures and the project is intended to be a big-budget action adventure.

The more interesting question is what this project may do to the other King Arthur projects Warners has in development. The studio is working on a remake of the 1981 movie Excalibur that Bryan Singer is a producer on while Guy Ritchie is developing King Arthur, based on Thomas Mallory’s novel.

The fact the studio picked Dobkin’s project speaks volumes about its strengths but also casts doubt on the life of the others.

CAA-repped Dobkin and his Big Kid banner are also producing Jack the Giant Killer (with Neal Moritz’s Original Films) and RIPD, Universal’s supernatural action movie which will star Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges. Original and Dark Horse Entertainment are also producing.